Spotlight on Waldorf #3: Why Our Classrooms are Media-Free

Learning Through Embodied Cognition

By Melissa Nilsen, Ph.D.

A foundational feature of Waldorf education that has persisted for over a century is keeping our classrooms free of media and electronic devices. This isn’t about rejecting technology, it’s about honoring how children learn best at each stage of development.

Research in embodied cognition shows that thinking is deeply connected to doing. Children don’t learn best by passively absorbing information; they learn through movement, touch, sensation, and real human interaction. As cognitive scientist Lawrence Barsalou explains, our concepts and understanding are grounded in sensorimotor experiences. By moving their bodies, using their hands, and engaging all their senses, children build the foundations for memory, reasoning, creativity, and problem-solving.

When screens are introduced too early—even for educational purposes—they often replace these rich, interactive experiences with passive consumption. Screens limit opportunities for face-to-face conversation, imaginative play, and collaborative learning. They also reduce the chances for the kinds of embodied, hands-on exploration that research shows are essential for young learners to develop flexible thinking and empathy.

That’s why in Waldorf classrooms, you won’t see students swiping and clicking. Instead, they are drawing, painting, singing, reciting poetry, gardening, baking bread, and dramatizing stories they’ve heard. These activities are not extras or add-ons; they are central to our curriculum because they actively engage the whole child—body, senses, feelings, and mind—helping concepts take root in ways that last.

This low-tech, experiential approach also nurtures imagination, focus, and human connection, qualities increasingly at risk in a screen-saturated world. By creating an environment rich in real-world materials, social interactions, and purposeful movement, we intentionally support the kind of embodied learning that cognitive scientists describe as vital for deep understanding.

We see this commitment as a way to preserve childhood itself. Youth is a time when children can experience the world and all its beauty and richness. To experience this in its fullness they must be allowed to engage with their whole beings, not through a screen. By protecting childhood, we help students develop the curiosity, empathy, and resilience they will need to use technology thoughtfully and creatively when they are developmentally ready.

At North Star Waldorf Academy, our media-free approach in the early years will create the strongest possible foundation for the future. We will cultivate curiosity, focus, empathy, and creative thinking through rich, hands-on experiences and real human connection. By prioritizing meaningful, embodied learning, we will prepare our students to approach technology thoughtfully and skillfully when they are developmentally ready, equipping them to become resilient, imaginative, and compassionate leaders in an ever-changing world.

Find out more at: North Star Waldorf Academy on line or follow us on Instagram

Resources

·      Barsalou, L. W. (2008). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 617–645.

·      Wilson, M. (2002). Six views of embodied cognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(4), 625–636.

·      Glenberg, A. M. (2010). Embodiment as a unifying perspective for psychology. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1(4), 586–596.

·      Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. MIT Press.

·      Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought. Basic Books.